British Army retires final Defender, Islander aircraft

Army Air Corps (AAC) operations with the Britten-Norman Defender and Islander have finally ended following the departure of the last aircraft from 5 Regiment’s No 651 Squadron at Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station Aldergrove (Belfast International Airport) in Northern Ireland. The final four aircraft, comprising three Defender R2s and one Islander R1, all departed Aldergrove on July 8. The three Defender R2s – serials ZG997 (callsign ‘AA523’); ZG998 (callsign ‘AA551’) and ZH002 (callsign ‘AA585’) flew to Britten-Norman’s facility at Solent